Bhutto Assassination Renews Concern About Huckabee's Foreign Policy

Republican Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee's first reaction to the assassination of Benazir Bhutto was a diplomatic blunder. Huckabee expressed "our sincere concern and apologies for what has happened in Pakistan." After criticism, Huckabee's campaign said he meant to say "sympathies" not "apologies." In the same statement, Huckabee revealed that he was unaware that martial law was lifted in Pakistan about two weeks ago.

Huckabee is not any better at geography than he is with diplomacy:

And in a morning TV appearance, Huckabee said Bhutto's slaying brings "a new level of instability to the Middle East, and particularly to Pakistan."

Pakistan is in South Asia.

As if those gaffes weren't bad enough, Huckabee decided to tie Bhutto's assassination to illegal immigration in the U.S.:

On Thursday night he told reporters in Orlando, Fla.: “We ought to have an immediate, very clear monitoring of our borders and particularly to make sure if there’s any unusual activity of Pakistanis coming into the country.”

On Friday, in Pella, Iowa, he expanded on those remarks.

“When I say single them out I am making the observation that we have more Pakistani illegals coming across our border than all other nationalities except those immediately south of the border,” he told reporters in Pella. “And in light of what is happening in Pakistan it ought to give us pause as to why are so many illegals coming across these borders.”

[. . .]

Asked how a border fence would help keep out Pakistani immigrants, Mr. Huckabee argued that airplane security was already strong, but that security at the southern United States border was dangerously weak.

“The fact is that the immigration issue is not so much about people coming to pick lettuce or make beds, it’s about someone coming with a shoulder-fired missile,” he said.

The Associated Press reports that many more illegal immigrants living in the United States are from India, Korea, China and Vietnam than Pakistan:

Homeland Security officials say there are more people in the U.S. illegally from the Caribbean, China and Canada than from Pakistan. Officials deported 435 Pakistanis in the 2007 fiscal year, which ran from Oct. 1, 2006 to Sept. 30, 2007, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement statistics. During this time, 766 people from China were deported, as were 521 from the Philippines.

[. . .]

Homeland Security does not publicize the number of people from each country who are caught trying to enter illegally or are turned away at legal border crossings, said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Bill Anthony. But without providing specific details — because they are considered sensitive for law enforcement — Anthony said Pakistanis do not top the list after Latin American countries.

In fiscal 2007, about 600 Pakistanis were turned away at the border or arrested in between entry points.

A senior aide to Mike Huckabee admitted Friday that the former Arkansas governor had "no foreign policy credentials:"



This isn't the first time Huckabee has been caught unprepared on foreign policy/national security matters. Early this month, after the release of a National Intelligence Estimate concluding that Iran had stopped its nuclear weapons program in 2003, Huckabee told journalists that he wasn't aware of the report, even though it had been widely reported in the news for more than 30 hours.

After the NIE gaffe we witnessed Huckabee do a Kerry on Cuba. Then there was the brouhaha over Huckabee's infamous "bunker mentality" quote, which earned him a rebuke from Bob Dole.

Huckabee is not ready for prime time when it comes to foreign affairs and national security. That's not acceptable with the nation at war.

Thanks to Justin Higgins at Stop The ACLU for the video.

Leaving Arizona

Attrition By Enforcement

Illegal Aliens are packing up and leaving Arizona.

Arizona enacted a new law in an attempt to lessen economic incentives for illegal aliens. Under the new law, which takes effect January 1, businesses found to have knowingly hired illegal workers will be subject to sanctions from probation to a 10-day suspension of their business licenses. A second violation would bring permanent revocation of the license.

Arizona employers have started to fire workers who can't prove they are in the country legally. As a result illegal aliens are returning to their home countries or moving other states.

The departure of the illegals from Arizona proves that attrition by enforcement works. When illegal aliens don't have jobs, they don't stick around.

Fred got it right.

Tancredo Endorsed Romney To Stop Hucakbee

Former Republican presidential candidate, Colorado Congressman Tom Tancredo, said he withdrew from the presidential campaign because he feared Mike Huckabee might win in Iowa and New Hampshire.

On Fox News Channel's "The Big Story," Tancredo further explained why he endorsed Romney:

I had an interesting and lengthy discussion with him this morning about his plan. I believe it's viable. I believe he'll stick with it, and he's got the best shot.

Tancredo's endorsement will help Romney in overcoming Huckabee, but by how much? The endorsement also makes it more difficult for Thompson to place in the top three in the Iowa caucuses. It may also slow McCain's resurgence by reminding folks of McCain's support for the Senate's failed so-called immigration reform, which many saw as providing "amnesty" for illegal aliens.

Huckabee Kerries Cuba

Huckabee Was For Trade With Cuba Before He Was Against It.

Now that he is running for president and is no longer governor of Arkansas, Mike Huckabee has decided to change his mind about the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba:

As governor of Arkansas five years ago, Mike Huckabee joined a bipartisan chorus of politicians who concluded that the U.S. trade embargo against Cuba was bad for businesses. Now that he's a top-tier candidate for president, Huckabee has decided he favors the embargo -- so much so that he vowed Monday to outdo even President Bush in strangling the regime of Cuban President Fidel Castro and punishing those who do business there.

Huckabee admits his Kerry -like flip-flop on Cuba is all about political expediency:

"Rather than seeing it as some huge change, I would call it, rather, the simple reality that I'm running for president of the United States, not for reelection as governor of Arkansas," he said. "I've got to look at this as an issue that touches the whole country."

Watch the following video where he explains his change of mind on the Hannity & Colmes show.



According to the Los Angeles Times, Huckabee's 2002 letter reportedly argued that the embargo "continues to harm our own agricultural and business interests here at home and has certainly not helped the people of Cuba." Now in a successful effort to obtain an endorsement from Marco Rubio, Florida's Cuban American state House speaker, Huckabee takes the opposite view vowing to veto any effort to end the sanctions:

Huckabee pledged to adhere to provisions of a 1996 law that would permit U.S. citizens to sue in American courts for property taken from them during the 1959 Cuban revolution.

Those lawsuits could threaten European businesses with holdings on the island. Bush and President Clinton have routinely avoided conflict on the issue by suspending those provisions of the 1996 law.

"I really wasn't that aware of a lot of the issues that exist between Cuba and the United States," Huckabee said Monday, adding that his flexibility on policy should be viewed as a good thing.

How could Huckabee be unaware these issues?

Unfortunately, Huckabee's Cuban Flip-flop, has all the political expediency of Huckabee's new immigration plan, designed to counter the criticism that Huckabee has supported in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants.

Romney Battles Huckabee Surge

To combat Mike Huckabee's surge in recent polls, Mitt Romney is airing a "contrast" ad in Iowa on illegal immigration.

The ad begins by highlighting the similarities shared by Romney and Huckabee on the life and marriage issues:

"Two former governors . . . two good family men . . . both pro-life . . . both support a constitutional amendment protecting traditional marriage," says the ad's narrator.

The ad then argues that the real difference between Romney and Huckabee is on illegal immigration.

It specifically targets Huckabee for having supported in-state tuition benefits as well as taxpayer-funded scholarships for the children of illegal immigrants.

In an interview with ABC News' Charles Gibson, Romney compared the Huckabee "surge" to previous surges and predicted like the McCain surge, the Giuliani surge, and the Fred Thompson surge, the Huckabee surge would eventually deflate:

And in the past, what's happened is, when the surge occurs, people look more closely at the record of the vision of the person running . . . and inevitably the surge kinda deflates. I think you will see the same thing here; I sure hope so.

Romney's contrast ad hit the airwaves shortly after Huckabee launched his own immigration ad, which calls for "no amnesty," building a border fence, and "doing it now."



The ad and Huckabee's new immigration plan are designed to counter the criticism that Huckabee has supported in-state tuition for the children of illegal immigrants.

Even if immigration is a hotter issue than Iraq, it's going to take more than Romney's the new contrast ad to deflate the Huckabee surge.

Spitzer Can't Take The Heat

On Saturday I asked if New York Democratic Governor Eliot Spitzer could take the heat over his very unpopular plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens.

Today we learn the answer is no.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer is abandoning his plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that opposition is just too overwhelming to move forward with such a policy.

[. . .]

“You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it’s not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward,” he said.

If Spitzer's position was truly principled, should it not be worth fighting for to the better end? The truth is more likely that Spitzer's decision is simply unprincipled and poll-driven:

Mr. Spitzer’s decision to abandon his plan comes as a poll released Tuesday by Siena College found that seven in 10 New York voters who had heard about it — and more than 80 percent of the 625 registered voters polled had — opposed it. It also found that for the first time, more people viewed the governor unfavorably than favorably.

Steven Greenberg, Siena New York Poll spokesman said, "voters think the Governor is wrong on the policy and on the rationale for the policy:"

"One year ago, Eliot Spitzer won 69 percent of the votes for Governor. In January, 75 percent of voters gave him a favorable rating. Only five months ago, 64 percent viewed him favorably and 55 percent gave him a positive job performance rating," Greenberg said. "All that’s changed in a New York minute."

"Eliot Spitzer’s standing with voters has fallen faster and further than any politician in recent New York history," Greenberg said. "Everything may not have changed on day one but from the voters’ perspective, everything about Governor Spitzer changed in year one."

[. . .]

The Governor’s fall is directly tied to his license proposal.

Even Democrats can't understand why their party's national leaders embrace driver's licenses for illegal aliens, and see driving illegals as "de facto amnesty" and political poison.

De Facto Amnesty - Driving Illegals

Even Democrats can't understand why their party's national leaders are embracing driver's licenses for illegal aliens, and say their constituents see it as a "de facto amnesty."

Alabama Democrat Representative Artur Davis, said voters in his state "get that a driver's license is a form of legal status" because it can be used to board a plane, enter most government buildings and conduct most financial transactions.

"The American people don't want conferring driver's licenses to become a de facto amnesty," he said.

Kansas Democratic Representative Nancy Boyda, Kansas Democrat, said the stance favoring licenses for illegals taken by Democratic presidential candidates is very unpopular in her district.

"It is ultimately about the rule of law," she said. "We don't give driver's licenses to people who are here illegally. We do something about the fact that they are here illegally."

Texas Democratic Representative Nick Lampson, said "Somebody else might be out of step with the voters of my district, but I'm not."

Driving illegals has exploded as a major issue in the presidential campaign thanks to New York's Liberal/Progressive Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer's very unpopular proposal to give licenses to illegal aliens and Hillary's inability to say whether she supported Spitzer's proposal at the Drexal University debate.

According to the Washington Times, Hillary isn't the only Democratic presidential candidate to support Driving illegals:

In addition to Mrs. Clinton, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois said he favors licenses for aliens while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's state is one of the small number that already allows such licenses.

A recent Fox 5-Washington Times-Rasmussen Reports poll found 77 percent, nearly a five-to-one margin, oppose drivers' licenses for illegal aliens, including (88%) of Republicans, 75% of unaffiliated voters and even 68% of Democrats.

The people get it. Unlike the Democratic Presidential candidates, voters understand that an incentive like a driver's license will encourage more illegal aliens.

Tennessee stopped issuing driving certificates to illegal aliens after investigations found illegal aliens were being shuttled to Tennessee from other states, using fake residency papers and sometimes bribing state workers to get the driving certificates. Tennessee's Driving certificates for illegals, like Spitzer's licenses, were meant to improve driving safety by making sure immigrants living in the state knew traffic rules.

New York Democrat Representative John Hall, broke with Spitzer over licenses for illegal aliens because of the security risk:

"I'm concerned that making licenses available to illegal immigrants could present security risks, make New York a magnet state for illegal immigrants by creating an incentive for more undocumented individuals to come to New York, and that the proposal would create a bureaucratic, confusing system," Hall said in a statement after he was criticized on the issue by national Republicans.

Even though some Democratic members of Congress see the silliness of providing incentives that encourage more illegal immigration, it's only the Republicans that are trying to stop driving illegals.

Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman, introduced a resolution that would put the Senate on record condemning states issuing driver's licenses to illegal aliens. Coleman's resolution is co-sponsored by 15 Republican Senators.

A similar resolution has been introduced in the House by Republican Representatives Tom Latham of Iowa and John Randy Kuhl Jr. of New York

New York Republican Representative Peter T. King of Long Island plans to introduce legislation next week that would prohibit states from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal aliens.

Driving illegals is more problematic than just encouraging more illegal immigration. A driver's license is more than a permit to drive. It's a nationally recognized form of identification that implies citizenship. With the license comes an assumed legitimacy. The same legitimacy achieved by the 9/11 hijackers, who had dozens of state IDs, used to rent cars and apartments, open bank accounts, take flying lessons and board planes.

Instead of arresting and sending illegal aliens back to where they come from when they are discovered driving illegally, the liberal/progressive solution is to give them driver's licenses. I just don't get it.

Driving Illegals - Political Poison

A new poll finds voters oppose drivers' licenses for illegal aliens by a nearly five-to-one margin:

Seventy-seven percent (77%) of American adults are opposed to making drivers licenses available to people who are in the country illegally.

The results won't surprise anyone except the Liberal/Progressive extremists that have taken over the Democratic Party.

Eighty-eight percent (88%) of Republicans oppose giving drivers’ licenses to undocumented immigrants. So do 68% of Democrats and 75% of those not affiliated with either major political party. There is little difference along gender, age, or income levels.

I have said before, we should trust the people on immigration reform. The people get it. They intuitively understand that it is stupid to give someone known to be here illegally a license to drive.

The poll numbers are the real reason Hillary refused to give a straight answer about New York Democratic Governor Elliot Spitzer's very unpopular proposal to give licenses to illegal aliens.

The same analysis applies to the misguided Liberal/Progressive proposal to provide instate tuition breaks to illegal aliens contained in the so-called Dream Act. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of all voters oppose the concept of the Dream Act. On the left coast, 62% of California voters support Republican Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of the state version of the Dream Act.

Providing any sort of "sanctuary" only encourages more illegal immigration.

Richardson Gets It Wrong

On NBC's "Meet The Press," Presidential wannabe Bill Richardson stated that the border fence had not worked anywhere along the border:

MR. RUSSERT: The wall hasn’t worked?

GOV. RICHARDSON: No, it hasn’t worked.

MR. RUSSERT: Anywhere along the border, the fence hasn’t worked.

GOV. RICHARDSON: It hasn’t worked. What has worked is more border patrols. What has worked is some National Guardsmen. What has worked is some technology. It’s made the program better. But, Tim, we got to talk to Mexico, our friend, get them to do more. . . [The complete transcript is available here.]

Richardson needs to get his facts right. In April 2006, The Assistant Chief of the Border Patrol's San Diego sector, Jim Henry, told NPR that apprehensions in the San Diego sector were reduced 95 percent, from 100,000 a year to 5,000 a year, after the single strand of cable marking the border was replaced by double -- and in some places, triple -- fencing.

Some say Richardson's statement is more than getting the facts wrong. Watch this video of Richardson saying the fence hasn't worked:



Richardson isn't going to convince many people to support him if he continues to make such gaffes on national television broadcasts.

Thanks to Lonewacko for the tip.